The one-story brick building at 830 St. Stephens Road was fully involved when firefighters responded at 8:19 p.m. Thursday. The roof and most of the structure collapsed shortly before 10 p.m. Firefighters continued working until 3 a.m.

Damage was estimated at $1 million, Trenier said.

The Harlem Duke was a club where nationally known soul, jazz and blues artists performed from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The club that had once hosted artists such as James Brown and B.B. King had been vacant for the last five years, Trenier said. Vagrants had been using the building, he said.

“They had some good shows there,” Trenier said. “That was the only place that blacks had to hold a concert. This was a big loss as far as history of the African-American community is concerned. We had hoped somebody would come along and develop it into a museum.”

The building had been purchased by Friendship Baptist Church, across the street from the former club.